So long 2016!

Somebody has been a very bad blogger, hasn't she?

I really did have all these great plans of documenting our move from California to Florida and all of our adventures in the sunshine state. 

Really, I did!

But somehow my very busy schedule (first full-time job in 20+ years, 2 singing rehearsals each week and being responsible for my 94 year old mother who lives 40 miles away) has kicked my butt and I find myself with no energy to think about anything when I finally get home each night. Heck, for the first time in my adult life, I can barely keep my eyes open past 9pm. I mean, who is this person? I used to make fun (in the nicest way possible, of course) of people that went to bed early and now I am one.

So, despite my best intentions, all those wonderful blog posts about my new Florida life just haven't been written. Which is a shame because we really are having fun in Florida and I want to share it with all of you.

Which leads me to my one and only New Years resolution for 2017 

WRITE!

For the past few weeks I've been getting the same message from the universe - write. 

Maybe there are things to say. Maybe there are things I need to learn. Maybe documenting my weird little journey is what I need to do for myself or someone else. Who knows, I just know I need to write and so somehow I'm going to get a handle on my schedule and make writing a priority.

And take pictures, of course. Here are a couple to get this whole thing started...

See you in 2017! 

happy place

Did you miss me?

You might have noticed that I took a little break from blogging. It's not that I didn't have many things to say or that nothing was happening. Just the opposite, there were too many things to say and way too many things happening. I didn't know where to begin and I had no idea what was going to happen so I decided to wait until things were more settled.

In April we had to make a big change in our lives. We packed all our stuff into storage in California, put as much as we could into 2 suitcases and flew off into the unknown...in FLORIDA!

Yeah, you read that right - we're back in Florida. Bet you didn't see that coming, did you? We didn't either but it seemed like the only right thing to do.

It was a scary decision, we came here with no jobs, no idea how we were going to rebuild our lives. Let's face it, we were kind of terrified but excited too because we have always loved Florida. We were also exhausted, moving is not fun.

We've been here 2 months now and life is finally starting to settle into a nice pattern. There are still a couple of major challenges but I've watched God knock down so many hurdles recently, I can't help but feel hopeful.

 

Travels with Charlie: Sunday Stroll

Sometimes our travels take us far and wide and sometimes we don't go very far from home. 

On a recent Sunday we didn't stray very far from home at all. We visited a local shopping center that has a special place in my heart because I worked there at a temp job over the summer. I love all the cute shops and outdoor seating areas.

 As with most of our outdoor shopping areas, the Crossroads is very dog friendly and Charlie enjoys a visit there as long as we don't visit her doctor who is located at the far end of the parking lot. 

She would also prefer that we didn't make her ride in an elevator. She really is not a fan. So, like any good mommy, I made sure to get a picture.

Don't worry, no dogs were forced to ride in elevators in the making of this picture.

She loves to walk on the wide sidewalk and try to visit the stores.

Some of the stores actually encourage her visit.

Of course the reason the hardware store is so pet-friendly probably has something to do with the fact that there is a big pet food store right next door.

On this particular Sunday we weren't looking for hardware or pet food. We were in search of CAKE!

 You see, this year Mr. T and I will celebrate our 30th anniversary. Yeah, I know, I can't believe it's been that many years either. Of course, I'd love to have a nice party with family and friends to mark the occasion, boy how I would love to, but that's not in the cards again this year. So we're doing the only thing we can do - we're eating a boatload of cake all year.

Each month, on our anniversary date, we are getting some form of cake to celebrate. This month we had a coupon to "buy one, get one free" at the cake store so that's just what we did.

Mr. T had chocolate chocolate chip and I chose white chocolate raspberry. He made his last 2 days...I can't say the same. I ate that whole thing in one sitting and wished there was more.

It's probably a good thing we're only celebrating once a month.

It's possible that Charlie pouted a little bit because we didn't share. 

But she'll be ready next week for another big adventure when we Travel with Charlie!